It is difficult, especially now that they’re not a band anymore and won’t likely be again (though one never knows), to speak about Orange Sunshine in terms other than the superlative. Oh they’re the most fraaked out buncha freaks who ever freaked their way onto an 8-track recording machine! They’re the biggest garage psych cosmic blown-mind mushroom rock secret ever kept by Den Haag! Although I guess at least the latter is demonstrably true.

Nonetheless, 2007’s Bullseye of Being — which is not to be confused with 2006’s Ruler of the Universe — absolutely is the same thing. Five songs, four of them covers and one an older demo. Kind of a hodge-podge where a third full-length proper might have been. But it’s Orange Sunshine, whose acid-drenched take on early-heavy rock was groundbreaking in itself, and so even if it is four covers, it’s a ripper. And I’m willing to bet you weren’t just listening to Terry Brooks & Strange‘s “Ruler of the Universe” anyhow, and even if you were, Orange Sunshine push the 11-minute original into a 15-minute jamadelic opening track that even as a cover demonstrates clearly how ahead of their time Orange Sunshine were in how they took it on.

Again, four of the five tracks are covers on the 37-minute Bullseye of Being — which I guess is what Leaf Hound Records decided to call it for the 2007 release; the band streams it as the later title, so that’s how I’m writing about it — and the first of them is a 15-minute take on an 11-minute obscurity from 1973? With sitar and tabla? Well of course it is. “Demonise” is a play on Deep Purple‘s “Demon’s Eye” from 1971’s Fireball that ups the swing to a delightfully over the top degree that’s all raw fuzzy blues strut in the guitar of Arthur Van Berkel with the vocals of drummer Guy Tavares cutting through set to his own march, bassist Thomas Van Slooten underscoring the bopping groove on which the song is based and within which the entirety of Orange Sunshine feels ready to reside at least on a time-share basis, if not permanently.

There is one copy of Orange Sunshine‘s 2001 self-titled four-song CD-R demo for sale on Discogs, and it’s about $70 after shipping. “Demonise” and the Cream cover “Sunshine of Your Love” appear on there as well as on Bullseye of Being, but I’m not sure if it’s the same versions or not, as the band has said that these tracks were put together at the same time as their 2001 debut, Homo Erectus (review here), so it’s possible they were sitting around, ready to be included with “Ruler of the Universe” and the subsequent “Speed,” first by Ron Wray Light Show. The original version of that track, from 1970, is a two-minute lysergic wahfuzz blaster that only doesn’t realize how stoned it is because it’s also on acid, and, well, Orange Sunshine add about another 40 seconds to that ethic to make the song three minutes, like Monster Magnet screwing around with Hawkwind tracks — making it their own and retaining loyalty to the original as part of that.

“Sunshine of Your Love” is one of those generation-defining hooks — you just know it whether you own a Cream record or not — and so the challenge there is for Orange Sunshine to basically do the same thing they did with “Speed” and pull it off with a song that’s going to be almost universally previously known to their audience. As the centerpiece, it has familiar ‘brump’ in its chugging chorus riff, but doesn’t sound exactly like Cream or like it wants to. Orange Sunshine often walked the line between psychedelia and garage rock, and they could freely draw from either in a way that gives them flexibility with the source material that others might not have. That is to say, Orange Sunshine was a pretty casual kind of band. You never know somebody until you’re in the rehearsal space with them — and I never was — but they always seemed like fairly laid back cats, even if they clearly knew what they were about as a band.

Inevitably, “Ruler of the Universe” is a lot of the draw on Bullseye of Being, and well it should be. It is expansive and encompassing, a triumphant head-jam that’s not only the opener and longest track (immediate points) but that effectively puts the listener in the hypnotic state the band wants just so they can turn around and deliver the slap of “Speed” that follows. Especially for being ostensibly a covers collection, the entire affair drips with personality, and that’s not at all limited to the scorch of lead guitar and feedback burning around the riff of “Balls Knocking.” The curious lone original — if it is — is a classic heavy blues rocker that mashes two channels of dirty-toned soloing together only to emerge clean in the second verse after like what might’ve inspired Radio Moscow ever to get the blues in the first place. It was reportedly also an older recording than its 2006/2007 release would indicate, and it closes here, but I honestly don’t know where it comes from. All I know is that its tones are covered in hair and by the time it’s halfway done it feels like it’s melted the sky.

But if you can vibe with stretches of LSD-drenched noise and heavy vibes pulled right out of 1968, but like, an alternate 1968 where 1968 already happened, Orange Sunshine are already on that astral plane and they already have the volume all the way up, which you probably know because you can feel it in your capillaries. This wasn’t the last Orange Sunshine studio output, but it was pretty close to it. Motorwolf, and the accompanying recording concern that puts Tavares at the helm, still ostensibly operates, and Tavares is currently in Mercury Boys and a few others, as Van Berkel passed away in 2018. Orange Sunshine‘s last release to-date was the 2014 live album, Live at Freak Valley 2013 (review here). The story I will tell about them forever is that when I saw them at Roadburn 2010, they covered Blue Cheer three times. It was one of the most honest and ballsiest things I’ve ever seen happen on any stage anywhere.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

—

I’m changing meds. It has not been a clean process. It’s been a pain in the ass. I have a new hole in the wall. I was alone when I put it there.

School is hard. We had a meeting with The Pecan’s kindergarten crew. Behavioral plans, etc. It’s just hard. I think that’s how it’s gonna be. Like, forever.

The dog is good.

We’re having brunch on Sunday, you should come.

Next week is Quarterly Review. I’m telling you, but really I’m telling The Patient Mrs., whom I’ve not been brave enough to inform in-person yet. She’s right next to me on the couch as I write this. 50 records. Solid week.

That’s about the long and short of what I’ve got. It’s raining today. I’m looking forward to picking The Pecan up at school and hopefully not needing to leave the house again after that.

Whatever you’re up to this weekend, have fun, be safe. Make sure you implement your behavior action plan in ways that are clear, measurable and malleable, and don’t forget to hydrate. See you back here on Monday for the Quarterly Review and more.

FRM.

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This is somewhere between me trying to give you a heads up on a record that I think sounds pretty cool and a band with some potential, and a note to myself about the same. The release of Catatonic Suns‘ upcoming album — it’s not their self-titled debut, but the vibe I get from the below is they kind of wish it was and listening to it, I get that — snuck up on me, and now here we are and it’s not next week through Agitated Records, same day as the Carlton Melton album that’s streaming today. The good news is I’ve got a Quarterly Review slated for next week and will get to write a bit about Catatonic Suns then, but in case you didn’t feel like waiting the extra week, the singles “Failsafe” and “Be As One” are streaming at the bottom of this post and there’s a bunch of info off the PR wire to go by, so dig in.

Young band, East Coast psych, heavy in parts but not beholden to it, a bit of indie they might shake off as they get older and more into garage and boogie, etc. Just thought it was something that might make your day better since it did mine. I’ll review next week. For now, this:

New album from noisy/shoegazey psych trio CATATONIC SUNS

Creating a blend of 90s indie DIY sensibilities with blankets of psychedelia

Listen to new single ‘Be As One’

Catatonic Suns new album sees them blend the underground psychedelia of the late 80s / early 90s Pacific Northwest with the shimmering shoegazery of Britain from the same time. Heavy and soft guitars, songs that soar, these new recordings verge on the epic.

For fans of The Verve (early), Screaming Trees, Truly, Ride, Slowdive, Alice In Chains.

Pennsylvanian three-piece Catatonic Suns release their brand new album via Agitated Records this autumn (Fall if you reside in the US), Patrick Shields and Jakob Christman have known each other since birth, obsessing on punk rock, but the band actually formed in 2019.

Vocalist / guitarist Patrick and fellow guitarist Llambro Llaguri began creating homemade psychedelic 4 track cassette demos during the Winter of 2015, taking heavy inspiration from an eclectic mix of acts ranging from Ween to R.E.M.
As these early songs were created, the duo sought other like minded individuals in their hometown of Allentown, PA to take these primitive demos to the next level. It was then that Patrick recruited another childhood friend, Jakob Christman, to fill the role of bass along with another mutual friend Caleb Strobl completing the rhythm section of Catatonic Suns.

In 2019, the group put out their first release, the Catatonic Suns demo, a collection of lo-fi recordings made by Patrick over the years. During this period, the band began to make a name for itself by playing shows across eastern Pennsylvania including the Lehigh Valley where local garage rock heroes Original Sins hailed from. During the months of August and September of the same year, Catatonic Sun’s reputation for wall of sound psych-grunge was really brought to life when the group teamed up with local record producer guru Matt Molchany of Shards Recording Studio to track their debut studio venture “Aphelion” (more of an extended EP). Self-released in the December, the album found an audience beyond the local music circuit of Pennsylvania, even reaching countries such as the U.K., Germany and Japan.

CATATONIC SUNS
CATATONIC SUNS
AGITATED RECORDS
RELEASE DATE: 6TH OCTOBER 2023 (LP/CD/DL)

Tracklist
1. Deadzone
2. Slack
3. Failsafe
4. Inside Out (Original Sins cover)
5. Sublunary
6. Fell Off
7. Be As One
8. No Stranger

Recorded early 2023 at Shards Recording Studio, Bethelem, PA with tracking and mixing once again by Matt Molchany. Mastered by Mikey Young.

Catatonic Suns is Patrick Shields (guitar, vocals), Jakob Christman (bass) and Caleb Strobl (drums).

Agitated/Catatonic Suns intend to remaster/reissue Saudade on LP/CD formats in 2024, to coincide with debut UK shows.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100062929104785
https://instagram.com/catatonic.suns
https://catatonicsuns.com/
https://linktr.ee/catatonicsuns

https://www.facebook.com/AGITATEDRECORDS/
https://instagram.com/agitated_records
http://agitatedrecords.com/

Catatonic Suns, “Failsafe”

Catatonic Suns, “Be As One”

For a band who call themselves Fuzz Forward, one might expect the Spanish troupe to be an absolute hair-covered overdose of effects pedals sprawling out across whatever stage they’re playing, but to listen to the new single “Intoxicate” that’s coming out in about two weeks ahead of their next album, Parasites, next year, they’re awfully clearheaded in their approach. Such was the case as well with their 2018 debut, Out of Nowhere (review here), so it would seem their purposes are perhaps a little more straightahead than their moniker.

Fair enough, and that’s hardly true only of them, but the songwriting isn’t really arguable either way, and I know I’ve said this about releases of this sort before, but it’s the kind of thing you might see five record labels or so getting behind. Hail teamwork. I don’t have audio of “Intoxicate” yet to share, but I’ve got art, info, a lifetime’s supply of links and 2022 single “Shout to Forget,” which isn’t on the record but, you know, exists in a public sphere and is thus applicable to our purposes here.

Which are:

Fuzz Forward “Intoxicate” new single Oct 13th

You can pre save Intoxicate here: https://tinyurl.com/26mycfhh

Barcelona based Fuzz Forward are releasing the single Intoxicate next October 13th on Spotify.

The band continues to pursuit their own path with their personal blend of grunge, hard rock and stoner rock. FF is heavily influenced by Helmet, Alice In Chains, Black Sabbath…

Intoxicate is the first single off their sophomore album “Parasites” due for release on January 2024 via Glory or Death Records, Discos Macarras Records, Violence In The Veins, Hombre Montaña and Demons Punk Records.

Fuzz Forward “Parasites”

1. Shout To Forget
2. Intoxicate
3. Fade Away
4. You Never Learn
5. She Comes
6. S.O.S.
7. Set Me Free
8. Hand It Over
9. Dead Friends
10. These Flowers

https://www.facebook.com/fuzzforward/
https://www.instagram.com/fuzzforward/
https://fuzzforward.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/Gloryordeathrecords/
http://gloryordeathrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://gloryordeathrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.gloryordeathrecords.com/shop/

https://www.facebook.com/discosmacarras
https://www.instagram.com/discosmacarras/
https://discosmacarras.bandcamp.com/
https://www.discosmacarras.com/en/

https://www.facebook.com/violenceintheveins
https://instagram.com/violenceintheveins
https://violenceintheveins.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/violenceintheveins

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100052386321069
https://hombremontana.bandcamp.com/

Fuzz Forward, “Shout to Forget”

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Mathijs Van Meensel from Mojo and the Kitchen Brothers

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

First and foremost, we make music and have a good time. It doesn’t really have to get any more complex than that, but there are two interconnected factors that explain why we make the type of music that we make, and why we have such a good time. Quite simply, we make the music we want to hear with the people we want to hear and play it with. As for how we came to it, the answer can be found along that exact vein. Our drummer, the founder of the band, realized that the type of music he loved wasn’t being played much in Belgium, so he contacted a few of his friends and that was that. From the very first rehearsals it became obvious that we shared some special connection, which shines through in our creative process, musical chemistry and onstage energy, but perhaps most clearly in our backstage banter.

Describe your first musical memory.

I distinctly remember chugging beers and rocking out to Black Sabbath’s Paranoid in my mother’s womb, she fucking loved that tune.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I don’t think I have any musical memories I would call the absolute best, but I suppose the musical memories that have had the most influence on me must be my earliest run-ins with Pink Floyd, especially Dark Side of the Moon. I remember sitting in front of my computer at about 14-15 years old just listening to them and being transported to another realm. I know that by now it’s a huge cliché to say Pink Floyd changed me not only as a music fan but as a person as well, but nonetheless I feel like things mostly become clichés for a reason, and seeing as so many people share that same experience with the Floyd, there must be something to it.

Another great memory is finally getting to see Acid Mothers Temple live in Liège, we were there with most of the members of the band and it was absolutely amazing. Somewhat strangely I’ve known them for a really long time now. About 10 years ago the Youtube algorithm decided to introduce me to this bunch of spaced-out Japanese rockers and I’ve loved them dearly ever since, so finally getting to see them in the flesh was mindblowing.

I had to ask the band if they had any other memories because it’s such a personal question, and some other good ones came out. For example, one of our guitar players remembers listening to Maggot Brain during his first experience with space-cake, he told me “[his] bed turned into a spaceship man”, and I can totally see that happening. Another one of our guitarists mentioned the time we went to France as a first band teambuilding trip. While we were there, we jointly listened to Matthew Halsall’s beautiful minimalist jazz tune “Only You” and just all fell silent and enjoyed. That song holds a special place in the band’s shared heart for sure.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

I try not to hold on to any beliefs too firmly, I prefer to remain mentally malleable. The beliefs I do hold onto firmly though, like equality and ecology, are not likely to be tested by anyone.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

It is unclear to me what exactly you mean by “artistic progression”.

Artistic progression can be viewed as a broad historical phenomenon, or as something personal to the individual artist. In the first case, I would disagree with the term “progression”, as I do not believe art progresses in the same way as for instance medicine or technology. The history of art is not a progression, but rather the assimilation of a tradition of tastes and impressions hailing from the human experience. This assimilation, in turn, leads without end to a more and more expansive library of the artistic tradition.

As for the more personal interpretation of artistic progression, I would like to divide the response into two sections: first, the progression of any individual work of art; and second, the progression of the artist as an artist.

The progression of any individual work of art leads to a cut-off point. At a certain point in time, the artist must say enough is enough and determine the work of art ready for publication, which is of course much more easily said than done.

The progression of the artist as an artist leads, preferably, to a purification and as such an intensification of their personal aesthetics.

How do you define success?

I’ve never thought about defining success, I’ll know when I get there. For now though, small victories will do nicely.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

I once saw a whole chicken coming out of a can from a dollar store and let me tell you, it did not look like chicken.

Btw, if you’d like to see what I’m talking about, here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nrcgTp0SChU

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

Anything but whole-canned chicken-soup.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To me, the most essential function of art is its non-functionality, its ability to exist without any clear purpose and to create in the face of nothingness. Uselessness is what makes art so special and powerful. To view art as necessarily connected to a utilitarian value, is to diminish its potential. If it is created impulsively and without any clear function, art manages to escape from the everyday drag of late-capitalism where the cadence is determined by the dictum “time is money” and any time-consuming move needs to be justified. A good analogy would be a jam-session. When you’re deep into a half-hour musical freakout, with all the musicians on fire and creating on the spot, something unique and undefined happens. It is exactly in this undefined happening that a true and unfiltered artistic spirit reigns supreme, and at such a time, everybody, artist and audience alike, is connected in a distinct and ephemeral moment that will never be replicated.

This is not to say that art cannot have certain functions. For instance, art can make people happy, it can make them sad, and if used correctly, it can humanize. However, I am firmly against the idea that clearly defined functions can or should be essential to any art form.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

/

https://www.facebook.com/MojoAndTheKitchenBrothers
https://instagram.com/mojoandthekitchenbrothers
https://linktr.ee/mojoandthekitchenbrothers

https://laybarerecordings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laybarerecordings/
https://www.instagram.com/laybarerecordings/
https://laybarerecordings.bandcamp.com/

Mojo and the Kitchen Brothers, Mojo’s Heavy Cream (2023)

Carlton Melton release their new album, Turn to Earth, on Oct. 6 through Agitated Records, ahead of beginning a European tour on Oct. 11. And if they’re carrying boxes of records over to sell, they’ll have their work cut out for them with the 80-minute double-LP, which offers 11 tracks intermittently but not desperately space rocking while feeling their way into other heavy psychedelic elements while they go, whether that’s drones, jams, the bits of Earthless-esque rippery in “Cloudstorming” or “”Vanquished,” the Sleep riff in the former and the hints of Easternism in the latter, those two acting as respective departures from each other, themselves, the droning launch of the album in its eight-minute title-track just prior and the New Age texturing in “Cosmicity” immediately following the side flip.

“Cosmicity,” which eventually brings guitar into its 12-minute synthy drone-out, is the second of four landmarks on Turn to Earth but the first to really reveal the way the album is built. “Turn to Earth” itself, at eight minutes, is the longest of the three songs on side A, and its ambient, sometimes minimal approach is well suited to being an intro, even with its extended runtime. “Cosmicity” and the 10-minute “Unlock the Land” open sides B and C, while the repetitive space rocker “Mutiny” caps side D and is over 16 minutes long. These extended pieces — Carlton Melton, a band who digs in, digging in — give Turn to Earth all the more opportunity to immerse the listener, and especially with aural variety on a per-song basis that might be emphasized by “Cosmicity” giving over to the two-minute manipulated percussion jam “Canned Head,” those longer-form works are a chance to get lost in the songs and see where you end up.

There’s a build in the drums on “Turn to Earth” as well, and so the forward motion of “Cosmicity,” patient as it is, doesn’t arrive without preface. The centerpiece of the album as a whole, “Sundering” is a highlight for its bright fuzz tonality and the ’60s psych chic lent to it by virtue of the organ, its Californian nature affirmed by the wah and noisy freakout that ends it, cutting suddenly to “Unlock the Land,” which is immediately quieter and stays that way for about seven of its 10 minutes. A complement perhaps for the title-track, it functions similarly on a gradual forward build and is a trap for the mind without leaning on a hook, or, say, vocals at all. “Roboflow” follows with its krautrock beeps and bloops like it’s 1978 and we’re all living on Mars (which we would be if Nixon hadn’t won earlier that decade) and “Last Times” unfurls itself with a majesty, not so much doing something radically different in laying out a procession and building around it, but bringing the drone, drums and bluesy guitar together in a way that’s more jam than experiment and feels warmer for that.

Slow swirl grows louder through “Last Times,” but Carlton Melton — guitarist/synthesist Rich Millman, synthesist/guitarist Anthony Taibi, bassist Clint Golden, drummer Andy Duvall, here working with Phil Becker as producer — are setting up the pairing of “Migration” and “Mutiny” on side D, and the keyboard-driven “Roboflow” into the warm water of “Last Times” is what lets them do it. In “Migration” — another shorter, three-minute inclusion, almost there lest anyone feel like maybe they’ve got the band figured out, and that’s part of the fun — they synth has a kind of warning sound buried in the mix of the second half, and that’s fair enough for the launch happening in “Mutiny,” which burns its way upward on guitar for the first two minutes before the drums hit into the backbeat.

And does that backbeat stay even as the song progresses along an increasingly-noised outbound wavelength, scorching all the while. It starts to come apart after about nine minutes in, but it’s freakery long before then, and the remainder is Carlton Melton finding their way around some breakout drumming and heavier riffing, a consistent backing drone (might be organ), and generally apocalyptic vibing, the latter two of which hold for the duration. This last of Turn to Earth‘s anchor tracks isn’t really trying to summarize the record prior — though its building structure does represent a fair portion of it, especially but not exclusively among the longer songs — but is pushing deeper into a kosmiche reality, a total head trip for total heads, round peg in the square hole of planet Earth. This is not necessarily a new place for Carlton Melton to reside; one imagines them quite comfortable in a NorCal wyrdo palace with the protection of a rainforest of spiky pot leaves to keep what most people regard as reality at bay. Not likely to reflect their actual circumstance, but it should give you some idea of the level of ‘dug in’ they’re working at.

To wit, all the way. Carlton Melton are an exploratory band, and their work maintains that aspect no matter what a given song is actually doing in terms of structure, tone, or arrangement. This is the band’s own interpretation of psychedelic music, rather than a style they’re playing toward, and the difference of their bending it to fit them instead of bending themselves to fit it is palpable here. ‘Bent’ might be an operative word for Turn to Earth as well, since the album seems to find its own particular angle in terms of point of view. If a listener is familiar with their past work, this aspect is recognizably Carlton Melton, and if you don’t know the band, you will by the time the 80-minute existential milling machine is done turning the big rocks in your brain into little pebbles of lysergic joy. They are now and have been for some time a good case in the argument that psilocybin cures depression.

You can stream Turn to Earth in its entirety on the player below, and I suggest that you do. Give the album some time to wake up and flesh itself out at its own speed. If your head is in mania-mode, go for a couple deep breaths as you dive into the title-track. Euro/UK tour dates and order link follow.

And please, enjoy:

Bandcamp link: https://meltoncarlton.bandcamp.com/album/turn-to-earth

CARLTON MELTON UK/EU TOUR OCTOBER 2023 –
Oct 11 – GHENT, BE – @ Kinky Bar
Oct 12 – LONDON, UK – @ Strongroom Bar w/ Black Helium and Psychic Lemon
Oct 13 – GLASTONBURY, UK – @ King Arthur w/ Dead Otter and Thee Crow
Oct 14 – HEBDEN BRIDGE, UK @ The Trades Club w/ Dead Sea Apes , Dead Otter and Waka(dj set)
Oct 15 – GLASGOW, UK @ Ivory Blacks w/ Nebula, The Cosmic Dead, and Lucid Sins
Oct 17 – SALISBURY, UK @ The Winchester Gate
Oct 18 – BRISTOL, UK @ Crofter Rights w/ Sonic Jesus and Stereocilia
Oct 19 – MARGATE, UK @ Bar Nothing
Oct 20 – ANTWERP, BE @ Trix Desert Fest
Oct 21 – AMIENS, FR @ Secret Show
Oct 23 – ANNAY LE CHATEAU, FR @ Bristrot Culture
Oct 24 – ROUEN , FR @ Le 3 Pieces
Oct 26 – ZWOLLE, NL @ Hedon w/ The Warlocks
Oct 27 – AMSTERDAM, NL @ OCCII w/ Sex Swing
Oct 29 – PARIS, FR @ La Maroquinerie e w/ The Warlocks

Phil Becker (Terry Gross, Pins Of Light) contributed drums and percussion to a few tracks on Turn To Earth, recording the album at El Studio in San Francisco. With Becker at the helm, the synths have become more prominent (“Cosmicity,” “Roboflow,” “Migration”) and the tone heavier on the doom (“Cloudstorming,” “Unlock The Land,” title track): several moments could even serve as background music for epic dark fantasy films like Conan the Barbarian, Fire and Ice, or Heavy Metal.

Tracklisting:
A1. Turn to Earth (8:12)
A2. Cloudstorming (5:07)
A3. Vanquished (7:03)

B1. Cosmicity (12:39)
B2. Canned Head (2:09)
B3. Sundering (5:01)

C1. Unlock the Land (10:31)
C2. Roboflow (3:38)
C3. Last Times (6:19)

D1. Migration (3:01)
D2. Mutiny (16:34)

Carlton Melton is: andy duvall – drums/gtr; clint golden – bass; rich millman – gtr/synth; and anthony taibi – synth/gtr.

Carlton Melton on Facebook

Carlton Melton on Bandcamp

Carlton Melton website

Agitated Records on Facebook

Agitated Records on Instagram

Agitated Records website

It’s about a month’s wait for the new single from Black Moon Cult, which is called “Supernova,” actually arrives on Oct. 27. If you don’t feel like sitting tight for that long and, say, now is more your speed, you’ll be interested to find out that the eight-minute track (it takes a minute or two to get going; give it time) recently featured as track number 63 on Weedian‘s Trip to Ohio compilation, and thus is streaming now. To support the upcoming issue-proper, Black Moon Cult have been tapped to tour alongside Mirror Queen in the Midwest in late-Oct./early-Nov., just as the track hits.

The song is a full front-to-back procession though, builds some cosmic energy before it blows off the gas and dust cloud and starts making helium from hydrogen and all that. I’m kind of assuming there will be an album next year, but I realize in re-reading the info below that it doesn’t actually say that anywhere. So it goes. It’ll be here when it’s here. The song’s here now.

“And so say we all, ‘Tap into America!'” (polite applause and clinking glasses ensue):

From heavy-psych rockers BLACK MOON CULT, comes the pummeling new single “SUPERNOVA!” An exercise in progressive space rock, “SUPERNOVA” features hypnotizing, fuzz-laden stoner riffage, corrosive psychedelic vocal stylings and synth work that calls back to the glory days of ’70s prog rock. For fans of Truckfighters and Fu Manchu, “SUPERNOVA” drops October 27th in collaboration with Tee Pee Records.

Mirror Queen tour with Black Moon Cult Oct/Nov 2023

New York City’s hard rocking psych-proggers Mirror Queen are embarking across the Midwest this fall with Black Moon Cult. Led by a talented young guitarist in up-and-comer Kaleb Riser, the Toledo trio will have just issued the digital single “Supernova” via Tee Pee, whilst MQ are taking a break from mixing a new album to continue slinging songs from last year’s “Inviolate” LP.

10.29 Howard’s Club Bowling Green OH
10.30 Buzzbin Akron OH
10.31 Dead City/Halo Live Sandusky OH
11.01 Black Circle Brewing Indianapolis IN
11.02 Livewire Lounge Chicago IL
11.03 McAlpine Meadery Beach City OH
11.04 The Mothership Mansfield OH

Black Moon Cult:
Kaleb Riser- Guitar/Synth/Vox
Kevin Lewis- Bass/Synth/Vox
Evan Scott- Drums

https://www.facebook.com/PsychedelicBlackMoonCult/
https://www.instagram.com/blackmooncult
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5D5iLfunYONp4hSAvAmn5z
https://psychedelicblackmooncult.com/

https://www.facebook.com/teepeerecords/
https://instagram.com/teepeerecords/
https://teepeerecords.bandcamp.com/
http://teepeerecords.com/

Black Moon Cult, “Supernova”

Starting tomorrow night at the Up in Smoke Festival in Switzerland, King Buffalo return to Europe for their second tour abroad of 2023, following up on a stint this past Spring that took them back to Freak Valley (review here) and elsewhere. In addition to Up in Smoke, the current run also boasts stops at Into the Void, Keep it Low, Desertfest Belgium and Lazy Bones Fests, which isn’t quite all of ’em — there are always more sneaking around — but it’s a lot.

And King Buffalo have been touring. A lot. Time for a new record? You know it. No, I don’t honestly think the Rochester, New York, trio — who emerged from the pandemic as one of the US’ brightest hopes in heavy psychedelia and have only furthered their case since — haven’t written a song in the last three years. Doesn’t seem feasible. But it makes sense that they might want to knuckle down and get everything ready to record. They’re following up an entire trilogy of albums, remember. Want to make sure your ducks are in a row.

And you’ll note they say there’s nothing else planned now. Plans change. Still, if you want to catch King Buffalo on this weird album-cycle-times-three — and I’ll gladly argue that you do — these shows might be your last chance. Fair warning.

From the PR wire:

KING BUFFALO – NORTH AMERICAN DATES ANNOUNCED!!

Tickets go on sale THIS FRIDAY at 10am
–> Click here for tickets: https://kingbuffalo.com/tour

These are our last planned shows for 2023 & 2024. If you want to see us before we hunker down to write a new record, THIS IS IT!

12/6 Portland, ME @ House of Music
12/7 Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace
12/8 Fairfield, CT @ The Warehouse
12/9 Providence, RI @ FETE Lounge
12/30 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
1/12 Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird
1/13 Detroit, MI @ El Club
1/14 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
1/16 Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
1/17 Bloomington, IN @ Bishop Bar
1/18 Louisville, KY @ Whirling Tiger
1/19 Cincinnati, OH @ Woodward Theatre
1/20 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups

EUROPEAN TOUR DATES
LAST SHOWS UNTIL 2025

29.9. (CH) Pratteln @ Up in Smoke Festival
30.9. (NL) Leeuwarden @ Into the Void
1.10. (DE) Lubeck @ Riders Café
3.10. (SWE) Gothenburg @ Musikens Hus
4.10. (DK) Copenhagen @ Loppen
5.10. (DE) Berlin @ Lido*
6.10. (DE) Munich @ Keep It Low*
7.10. (AT) Dornbirn @ Conrad Sohm*
8.10. (CH) Dudingen @ Bad Bonn
10.10. (ESP) Barcelona @ Razzmatazz3
11.10. (ESP) Madrid @ Nazca
12.10. (POR) Lisbon @ RCA Club
13.10. (POR) Porto @ Hard Club
14.10. (ESP) Hondarribia @ Psilocybenea
15.10. (FR) Toulouse @ Connexion Live
17.10. (UK) London @ The Dome
18.10. (UK) Leeds @ Brudenell Social Club
19.10. (UK) Nottingham @ Bodega
20.10. (UK) Brighton @ The Arch
21.10. (BE) Antwerp @ Desertfest
22.10. (NL) Deventer @ Burgerweeshuis
24.10. (DE) Cologne @ Club Volta
25.10. (NL) Amsterdam @ Melkweg
26.10. (NL) Eindhoven @ Effenaar
27.10. (DE) Frankfurt @ Zoom
28.10. (DE) Hamburg @ Lazy Bones Festival

Buy Tickets! https://kingbuffalo.com/tour

King Buffalo is:
Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth
Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth
Scott Donaldson – Drums

kingbuffalo.com
facebook.com/kingbuffaloband
instagram.com/kingbuffaloband
kingbuffalo.bandcamp.com

stickman-records.com
facebook.com/Stickman-Records-1522369868033940

King Buffalo, Regenerator (2022)

I have every intention of being at Freak Valley Festival 2024 when it takes place next May into June, and given the first 11 acts to be announced for its lineup, I’m already glad for that. Yes, no doubt Monolord will crush and I just saw 1000mods like a week ago so I know they’re killing it, but the chance to see the likes of Daevar or Fuzzy Grass, Speck, Mouth, Full Earth (begat by Kanaan) and Slomosa, the young Norwegian outfit at the potential spearhead of a new generation of Euro heavy rock — the kind of band who’ll be headlining in a few years if they keep putting the work in like they are and the songs hold up. Already there’s stuff I never thought I’d see, stuff I’ve seen and know will be awesome, and stuff I haven’t seen that I want to see. Call that a win for a first announcement.

I wrote a decent portion of the below, but some was added, so I’m not gonna take full credit or anything like that. Nonetheless, as posted on socials:

Freak Valley Festival 2024 Lineup Announcement!

Ladies and gentlemen, freaks of all ages, get ready to rock your world at Freak Valley Festival 2024! We’re thrilled to unveil the first part of an incredible lineup featuring some of the most electrifying bands from around the globe.
Freak Valley 2024 is set for May 30 – June 1.

You’ve already seen that Early Freak Tickets are on sale for Sept. 30 at Vortex Surfer in Siegen, and Regular Tickets again Oct. 2. Online sales start Oct. 3 and tickets hit local shops on Oct. 4.
But enough about that!!

You’ve been waiting, we’ve been waiting, and the first band we’re ready to unveil for Freak Valley Festival 2024 is MONOLORD.

The Swedish kingpins of plus-sized riffs were last with us in 2019. Will they be back with a new album next summer? It’s cool to hope so, but either way, you can’t go wrong when Monolord come to crush, which they always do.

They’ll be joined by Greek heavy rock kingpins 1000MODS, Norwegian upstarts SLOMOSA — whose second record will be out by June — and ALEX HENRY FOSTER who you might remember was supposed to play in 2023, as well as DŸSE, SPECK, DAEVAR and FUZZY GRASS from France.

Newcomer Kanaan-offshoot FULL EARTH will join us from from Norway and long-running Chilean sludge outfit DEMONAUTA will grace our stage for the first time.

Rounding out this first announcement closer to home, we’ll bring Köln heavy prog stalwarts MOUTH on board, heralding this year’s ‘Getaway’ LP, which is must-hear if you haven’t!

(#128266#) Here’s the star-studded lineup:

Monolord – 1000mods – Dÿse – Slomosa – Alex Henry Foster – Mouth – Speck – Demonauta- Full Earth- Fuzzy Grass – Daevar

All killers, no fillers. That’s how we do it, freaks. Get your tickets now because they’ll be gone before you know it.

Prepare for an unforgettable weekend filled with mind-blowing performances, heavy riffs, and an atmosphere that’ll keep you rocking all night long. Freak Valley Festival 2024 is set to be an absolute musical extravaganza!

https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
http://www.freakvalley.de/

Monolord, It’s All the Same (2023)